The use of toothbrushes for maintaining human oral hygiene is common, imperative, and widespread. As is well-known, toothbrushes are used in wet environments, and most typically in a bathroom. This wet environment, combined with airborne germs and other contaminants, along with those from the mouth, hand, or environmental surfaces, provides an ideal setting for inception and propagation of mold, mildew, germs, viruses, and the like upon the toothbrush. This is, of course, unsanitary and highly undesirable, because a toothbrush so contaminated will most likely be subsequently reused; thereby, increasing the likelihood of infecting the user. That user, in addition to becoming sick himself or herself, may then spread the infection or disease to others.
Further compounding this problem is that a holder of some type is often used to store the toothbrush when not in use. Most often, toothbrushes are stored upon or within such a holder. Such a holder can be as simple as a glass or other container, typically placed near a sink, wherein the toothbrush is stood or otherwise placed when not in use. In other cases, the holder can take the form of a wall-mounted unit, wherein one or more toothbrushes may be stored when not in use.
Such holders may take the form of a horizontally oriented platform having a plurality of openings disposed therein, each opening intended for placement of a toothbrush. In such cases, the toothbrush is inserted by a user into an opening, handle first, such that the wet, bristled head of the toothbrush bears against, and is supported by, the platform.
Such an arrangement is disadvantageous for many reasons. First, the portion that has just been within the user's mouth, and which is, therefore, highly likely to carry germs or viruses in the first instance, bears against the platform. The water from the toothbrush head may pool against the platform, and may further flow into the opening, tending to follow the path of the handle.
This is an ideal environment for propagation of germs, viruses, molds, mildew, and the like, and further may be a collection point for dirt, dust, debris, and the like. Each time the user removes his or her toothbrush from the platform holder, it is likely that the bristles of the toothbrush carry undesirable, biologically contaminated remnants into the user's mouth. Additionally, owing to the influence of gravity, some of these water-borne contaminants likely have followed the path of the handle during storage. Accordingly, some of the contaminants may be transferred from the handle to the user's hand for subsequent communication to other surfaces or persons, unless the user is extremely diligent—which is sometimes not the case, especially with regard to younger children.
Of course, unless the holder is frequently cleaned and disinfected, the above-identified problem is exacerbated with each use, and is further exacerbated through the use of a common holder for multiple users' toothbrushes.
Other holders take the form of a wall-mounted peg arrangement, typically having a plurality of pairs of horizontally disposed pegs, whereby each such pair of parallel pegs is used for support of a toothbrush by its head. Such holders obviously suffer from the problems identified above with regard to platform-type holders.
Still other holders take the form of a wall-mounted peg arrangement, whereby a toothbrush may be hung from its handle upon a peg. In such cases, the toothbrush typically has a hole formed within its handle for such purposes.
In this instance, the peripheral surface of the hole formed within the toothbrush is the same width as the toothbrush handle is thick. This peripheral surface is wide enough to hold sizable droplets of water, and to, thereby, collect germs and other undesirable biologically active contaminants. Excess water, so contaminated, will tend to travel downwardly under the influence of gravity, following the handle toward, and ultimately into, the toothbrush bristles, whereupon the contaminants may be subsequently transferred into the user's mouth.
Therefore, what is needed, but which has not heretofore been available, is a novel toothbrush and holder that obviates or reduces the above-discussed problems and disadvantages found within the prior art. Such a novel toothbrush and holder is, accordingly, described herein.